Mike’s Rumblings 02-02-24

Faith Conversations

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 2.2.24

1. “Courage, after all, is not being unafraid, but doing what needs to be done in spite of fear.” ~ James Farmer, Co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality

I have a long history with both fear and cowardice. This much I know. Farmer is right. Sometimes, we have to courageously face down our fear to do what we’ve been called to do. Whenever I let fear win, I lost something of myself and found it hard to look in the mirror.

Speaking up courageously, despite our fear, is a learned habit. It is one part knowledge, one part skill, and one part desire. But it starts with desire. It’s what primes the pump.

2. “A jury is there to determine how much Trump will have to pay, and we know he doesn’t like to pay, so he showed up to speak on his own behalf. And everything went smoothly until the judge asked him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and everybody busted out laughing.” ~ Jimmy Kimmel

Comedians see the former president, on one hand, as a really comical figure who has no ability to see the humor in his own words, actions and predicaments and on the other hand as a politician with absolutely no moral guardrails, who actually thinks he’s a virtuous guy. So comics see him as a goldmine of possible jokes, skits and quips.

The very best comedians are social commentators, who are not just going after the laugh but are using humor for a purpose. Think of them as an early warning system. They use humor to get our attention, poking and prodding us to ask questions of ourselves and the issues of the day.

3. What’s your goal as a person of faith?

Is it to be a habitual, winsome and Christ-like presence or is it to win the culture wars and own the libs?

4. Princeton Professor and MSNBC panelist Eddie Glaude came to Sarasota last week. He said something that was very simple but quite profound. He said that we need to “pursue the country we want and love a new world into existence.”

Pursue, to my way of thinking, means that we go after something with deep resolve and unwavering determination. Love is the blessing we offer along the way.

What do you really want this country to be?

What do you want it to stand for?

What do you think is standing in our way?

5. “I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling.” ~ Mitt Romney

It is truly appalling. Unfortunately, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. After all, on Planet MAGA wreaking havoc on people’s lives by not acting proactively comes easy, like breathing for most of us.

Further complicating matters is the stand being taken by extremist Republicans to not provide aid to Ukraine until the border situation is resolved. And they’re being told not to resolve it. Crazy, isn’t it?

I find it fascinating that the so-called pro-life party keeps showing us that their concern for life issues is actually quite narrow in both scope and application.

6. “It doesn’t matter how old we are; we all need stories to believe in. If there’s no storyline, no integrating images that define who we are or give our lives meaning or direction, we just won’t be happy. I can’t imagine I’m alone in longing for us collectively to embrace a better story, one with the power to change our hearts and minds and enliven our imaginations.” ~ Richard Rohr

Sign me up. I share that longing.

7. “Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with.”~Martin Luther King Jr.

King was quite adept at shining light on the tension, defining it, and then challenging folks to deal with it. And he did this for a long time.

Guess what?

The tension is still there. The struggle continues. I don’t think that would have surprised King. He knew it was going to take awhile.

“We shall overcome – someday …” Remember the song and the words? Someday isn’t here yet. There’s still work to be done. It’s the work all of us must do.

By the way, February is Black History Month. Jump on board. There’s music to listen to, stories to be read, and movies to watch. Make sure you indulge yourself in something that makes you truly uncomfortable.

8. “Mike, you seem to be out of sync with evangelicals. What gives?”

Author Brennan Manning once said: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.”

So, I am proudly out of sync with evangelicals who, in word and deed, carry the banner of Christian nationalism and accept the extremism that accompanies it.

I am proudly in sync with evangelicals who align with the Kingdom of God that Jesus talked about and live redemptively under that banner.

9. Sometimes I just need a dose or two of Anne Lamott. She’s pithy and wise.

“I’m here to be me, which is taking a great deal longer than I had hoped.”

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

10. “When I shine your light

of love and goodness

into the world, the darkness

inside me recedes.

Help me shine brightly

in all that I do,

lest the darkness creep further

into my own soul.

Let it be so.”

Donald K. Nelson, ad gloriam Dei

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